Securing America’s Nuclear Waste Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 8572 To require the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, to conduct a study, and submit to Congress a report, on an auction process or other system for selecting and entering into contracts with non-Federal entities for consolidated interim storage facili- ties, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 9, 2020 Mr. ROUDA (for himself, Mr. NEAL, and Mr. LEVIN of California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce A BILL To require the Secretary of Energy, in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, to conduct a study, and submit to Congress a report, on an auction process or other system for selecting and entering into contracts with non-Federal entities for consolidated interim storage facilities, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Securing America’s 4 Nuclear Waste Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8572.IH H8572 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 8572 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 The Congress finds the following: 2 (1) The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 3 U.S.C. 10101 et seq.) dictated that the Federal Gov- 4 ernment would identify repositories and begin dis- 5 posal of high-level radioactive waste and spent nu- 6 clear fuel beginning not later than January 31, 7 1998. 8 (2) It has been 60 years since the first civilian 9 nuclear power reactor became operational, and the 10 United States still lacks a long-term management 11 solution for the disposal of spent nuclear fuel and 12 high-level radioactive waste. 13 (3) There are approximately 100 sites across at 14 least 34 States where spent nuclear fuel and high- 15 level radioactive waste is currently stored. 16 (4) The need to develop a long-term nuclear 17 waste storage plan for the United States is well rec- 18 ognized by many experts, institutions, and organiza- 19 tions, including the Department of Energy and the 20 Nuclear Energy Institute. 21 (5) With the future of the repository at the 22 Yucca Mountain site in doubt, providing interim 23 storage for spent nuclear fuel currently in repose at 24 sites of both decommissioned and active civilian nu- 25 clear power reactors has become an imperative. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 00:28 Nov 03, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8572.IH H8572 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 8572 IH (6) The purpose of a consolidated interim stor- 1 age facility is to begin the process of accepting spent 2 nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, while 3 also developing and perfecting protocols and proce- 4 dures for transportation and storage of such spent 5 nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. 6 (7) In recent decades, Federal agencies have 7 used auctions and other market mechanisms to re- 8 duce costs to taxpayers and allocate resources in ef- 9 ficient and transparent ways. 10 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 11 In this Act: 12 (1) CONSOLIDATED INTERIM STORAGE FACIL- 13 ITY.—The term ‘‘consolidated interim storage facil- 14 ity’’ means a facility for the consolidated storage of 15 spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste 16 generated by multiple persons or the Secretary of 17 Energy pending the disposal of the spent nuclear 18 fuel and high-level radioactive waste in a repository. 19 (2) HIGH-LEVEL RADIOACTIVE WASTE.—The 20 term ‘‘high-level radioactive waste’’ has the meaning 21 given the term in section 2 of the Nuclear Waste 22 Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101). 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8572.IH H8572 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 8572 IH (3) REPOSITORY.—The term ‘‘repository’’ has 1 the meaning given the term in section 2 of the Nu- 2 clear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 U.S.C. 10101). 3 (4) SPENT NUCLEAR FUEL.—The term ‘‘spent 4 nuclear fuel’’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 5 tion 2 of the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 (42 6 U.S.C. 10101). 7 SEC. 4. STUDY ON RISKS OF CURRENT STORAGE OF SPENT 8 NUCLEAR FUEL AND HIGH-LEVEL RADIO- 9 ACTIVE WASTE. 10 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 11 of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States 12 shall submit to Congress a report on the risks to current 13 storage locations for spent nuclear fuel, including spent 14 nuclear fuel from civilian nuclear power reactors, and 15 high-level radioactive waste, including— 16 (1) risks that are related to global weather pat- 17 terns and geography, including— 18 (A) extreme weather events (including hur- 19 ricanes, tornadoes, and other storms), fires, 20 drought, flooding (whether or not the spent nu- 21 clear fuel is located in a floodplain); and 22 (B) earthquakes and proximity to fault 23 lines; 24 (2) site specific risks, including— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8572.IH H8572 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 8572 IH (A) whether a site stores its spent nuclear 1 fuel and high-level radioactive waste in spent 2 fuel pools or dry casks; 3 (B) the location of spent nuclear fuel and 4 high-level radioactive waste within the overall 5 layout of the site; 6 (C) how much spent nuclear fuel and high- 7 level radioactive waste is stored on-site; 8 (D) whether any applicable civilian nuclear 9 power reactor is decommissioned, active, or an- 10 other status; and 11 (E) the population of the surrounding 12 area; and 13 (3) a description of how implementation of con- 14 solidated interim storage of spent nuclear fuel and 15 high-level radioactive waste could address the risks 16 described in paragraphs (1) and (2). 17 SEC. 5. STUDY ON ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF CONSOLIDATED 18 INTERIM STORAGE. 19 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 20 of this Act, the Director of the Office of Management and 21 Budget shall conduct a study, and submit to Congress a 22 report, on the economic benefits of consolidated interim 23 storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive 24 waste, including economic benefits associated with— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8572.IH H8572 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 8572 IH (1) job growth; and 1 (2) redeveloping sites of decommissioned civil- 2 ian nuclear power reactors. 3 SEC. 6. STUDY ON PROCESS FOR CONTRACTS FOR CON- 4 SOLIDATED INTERIM STORAGE FACILITIES. 5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the 6 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy, 7 in coordination with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall 8 conduct a study, and submit to Congress a report, on an 9 auction process or other system for selecting and entering 10 into contracts with non-Federal entities for consolidated 11 interim storage facilities— 12 (1) that are located at a site without an oper- 13 ating nuclear reactor; and 14 (2) for which a non-Federal entity will hold a 15 license issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commis- 16 sion. 17 (b) INCLUSIONS.—In conducting the study under 18 subsection (a), the Secretary of Energy, in coordination 19 with the Secretary of the Treasury, shall develop or iden- 20 tify an auction process or other system described in such 21 subsection— 22 (1) that includes— 23 (A) a competitive bidding system; and 24 (B) appropriate bidding methodology; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8572.IH H8572 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 8572 IH (2) under which the Secretary of Energy may 1 not select and enter into a contract with a non-Fed- 2 eral entity unless— 3 (A) the consolidated interim storage facil- 4 ity with respect to which the contract will apply 5 has been licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory 6 Commission; 7 (B) the Secretary of Energy has approval 8 to store high-level radioactive waste or spent 9 nuclear fuel resulting from civilian nuclear ac- 10 tivities to which the Department of Energy 11 holds title at such consolidated interim storage 12 facility from each of— 13 (i) the State in which the facility is to 14 be located; 15 (ii) any unit of local government with 16 jurisdiction over the area in which the fa- 17 cility is to be located; and 18 (iii) any impacted Indian Tribe; and 19 (C) the Secretary of Energy or the non- 20 Federal entity has conducted 1 or more public 21 hearings in the vicinity of the site where the 22 consolidated interim storage facility is to be lo- 23 cated and in at least 1 other location within the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8572.IH H8572 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 8572 IH State in which such facility is to be located to 1 solicit public comments and recommendations. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Oct 31, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H8572.IH H8572 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS